Burke On Tribunal At Nazi Generals' Tria In Nuernberg

Burke On Tribunal At Nazi Generals Trial In Nuernberg
George J. Burke, local attorney who has been a member of German war crimes courts since July, is currently serving on Military Tribunal Number 5, which is hearing the trial of 11 former Nazi generals in Nuernberg, Germany.
All of the defendants are charged with responsibility for the murders of helpless civilians and for wanton destruction during the German occupation of Norway and the southeastern countries of Yugoslavia, Greece, and Albania.
With Judge Burke on the bench are Charles F. Wennerstrum, on leave from the Supreme Court of Iowa, presiding judge, and Edwin F. Carter, judge of the Supreme Court of Nebraska.
The case is principally concerned with the alleged retaliatory killing of hostages in southeastern European countries in reprisal for the murder of German soldiers by partisans. Documents introduced as evidence have indicated that in some occupied localities one hundred hostages were slaughtered for the death of one German soldier.
The defendants' most common plea has been that the reprisals were, ordered by the High Command of the Army and that the defendants had no control over its decisions.